ARC Review: We All Looked Up

We All Looked Up
Tommy Wallach
Young Adult/Pre-Apocalypse
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
March 24, 2015

Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.

Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, ddoesn'tunderstand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

This is a scenario which could potentially happen. We do hear about asteroids coming what science calls "close to earth", when in reality they are millions of miles away. But for the characters in Tommy Wallach's We All Looked Up, coming close isn't a factor. This asteroid is almost destined to make impact. It's a pity the characters and their story didn't leave a great impact on this reader.

The story starts out with getting to know these teens and their lives prior to the devastating news that will change their lives. What I found interesting is the different reactions to the news of the asteroid. Some people pull closer to their families while others rebel against everything and everyone. It makes you wonder if they are going against their nature or if the event is bringing out their true nature.  It's always good when a book makes you think.

The main characters don't have much in common at the beginning but band together and find some surprising commonalities  as they come to know each other. The pairings up would not have occurred in real life but this is a surreal life these characters are living, knowing their lives might be ending in a very short amount of time.  Might as well make the most of it seems to be the prevailing attitude.

If the plot had continued focusing on the main characters the story would have held my interest but instead we are lead into another direction. The world of drugs and crime populated by thugs left me caring little for the outcome of these characters. They continued to make poor, idiotic choices, wasting away the time they had instead of appreciating it.

In the end, while I wanted to care about these characters, about the changes they made prior to the asteroids impact, I felt a bit empty by the end.

Rating: C-

ARC Review: Crash Into You

Crash Into You
Katie McGarry
Contemporary Young Adult
Pushing the Limits/3
Harlequin Teen/November 26, 2013

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker - a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

What an emotional, wild ride Crash Into You proved to be!  It flew by at breakneck speed and I found myself trying to slow down towards the end because I didn't want it to be over.

Rachel Young may seem like perfection in a pretty dress but she is flawed, just like any other teen, trying to find her way and the direction she wants her life to take.  She has some serious obstacles to overcome, mainly her parents and their strict expectations for her.  When she meets Isaiah, Rachel is looking for an outlet for her rebellion in the form of street racing. She gets more than she bargained for and lucky for her, Isaiah is there to help her out.  It was so emotional, seeing Rachel attempt to live up to the unrealistic expectations her parents had placed on her.  She tries so hard to overcome her fears that I couldn't help but be angry at her parents for not seeing how much pressure and stress they put on her.  McGarry did well in bringing such strong emotions out in the the characters and this reader.

Isaiah Walker knows everyone thinks Rachel is out of his league.  She is not someone he would hang out with or date but he still has this overwhelming need to hang out with her and wants to date her.  I loved how Isaiah takes a huge leap of faith with his feeling for Rachel.  He could be setting himself up for a world of hurt but he takes that chance.  Isaiah is a hero you wish the best of everything for.  He has been through so much and still has a way to go but he doesn't give up.  The mom side of me wanted to give him a home where he would be wanted and loved.  The teenage girl in me would have taken Isaiah as a boyfriend in a heartbeat! He definitely left an impact on me.

The character development is well done not only for the main characters but with the secondary set.  Also, the pacing matched between the suspense, developing romance and the conflicts at home Rachel and Isaiah are dealing with.  The suspense and dangerous situations Rachel and Isaiah find themselves in are made believable because McGarry takes the time to create the framework of the situations.  I loved how nothing is glossed over - neither the brighter moments nor the darker hours. Within those tense situations are reminders that Rachel and Isaiah are teenagers who are facing circumstances not every teen must face.

Even if you don't usually read Young Adult, I encourage you to give Ms. McGarry's Pushing the Limits series a try.  It's more than Young Adult, it is exceptional story telling.

Rating: A

Pushing the Limits Series ~

Pushing the Limits
Crossing the Line (novella)
Dare You To
Crash Into You
Take Me On (May 20, 2014)

Review: Dare You To

Dare You To
Katie McGarry
Contemporary Young Adult
Pushing the Limits/2
Harlequin Teen/May 28, 2013

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

After reading and loving Pushing the Limits, I was looking forward to the next in Ms. McGarry's emotionally charged Young Adult series.  While Dare You To didn't have as strong of an impact that Pushing the Limits had, it is still a worthwhile addition to the series.

It all started with a dare.  And while some things that start with a dare don't always end well, for Ryan and Beth, the dare was only the beginning of what would prove to be a very exciting, emotional roller coaster ride.

Beth Risk had to grow up too young and too fast.  In her relationship with her mother, Beth is the parental figure while her mother is irresponsible and immature.  Beth continues to keep her mother out of trouble but this places Beth in right trouble's path.  I couldn't help but feel sorry for Beth. Her attitude could use some adjusting but she uses her rebellious teen attitude as a shield to protect her from the world of disappointment she has experienced.

Ryan Stone is the all American teenager.  Good grades, lots of friends, baseball star - yes, he has it all.  But he wants something more, something different.  He is intelligent but hides it behind his jock persona.  Ryan is mature, willing to see beyond Beth's bad girl image to the real girl behind the attitude.  I liked how the conflict between Ryan's dreams and his father's dreams for him are shown and resolved.

For Beth and Ryan, the chance meeting that turns to friendship then romance, acts as a catalyst for major changes in each others' lives.  They are both able to see the potential in one another and provide encouragement towards reaching for something they each thought was unattainable.

Rating: B+

Pushing the Limits Series ~

Pushing the Limits
Crossing the Line (novella)
Dare You To
Crash Into You
Take Me On (May 20, 2014)

Review: Letters to Nowhere

Letters to Nowhere
Julie Cross
Young Adult
Letters/Book 1
Long Walk Press/ August 1, 2013

I've gotten used to the dead parents face.  I've gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I've even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son.  Dealing with boys is not something that's made it onto my list of experiences as of yet.  But here I am, doing it.  And something about Jordan - being around him, talking to him, thinking about him - makes me feel like I can finally breath again.  That's something I haven't been able to do lately.  He knows what it feels like to be me right now.  He knows what it's like to wonder - what now?  I think about it constantly.  I need answers.  I need to know how to get through this.  In the gym, if you're struggling, you train harder, you do drills and conditioning.  How do I work hard at moving on?  At being on my own? And what happens if I might be . . , maybe. . . probably falling for Jordan?  I mean we live together now.  That can't happen, can it?  But kissing him. . . well, let's just say it's not an easy activity to forget.

Big thanks to Li by way of Nath for this great recommendation!  This is what I love about the blogging community - finding out about wonderful books I might not have heard of if not for other bloggers.

Letters to Nowhere was such a surprise in number of ways.  First off, while I enjoyed watching gymnastics when I was a kid, I wouldn't call myself a big fan.  So I was surprised at how much I enjoyed my venture into the world of competitive gymnastics.  It's an intense look at the girls and how they their lives center around this highly competitive sport.   Cross does a great job of setting the scene and giving enough information about the sport without overwhelming the reader.

Karen Campbell has been working hard for years to reach her ultimate dream of competing in the Olympics.  That dream was shared by her parents but now they are gone, killed in a car accident, leaving Karen alone.  Karen's grandmother is willing to take her in but it feels like it comes more from obligation than true desire.  So Karen's gymnastic's coach steps in and agrees to have Karen live with him and he will act as her guardian.  It's an interesting situation since Coach Bentley's home is occupied by himself and his teenage son.

Karen's world is gymnastics.  She's had little of what is considered typical teenage experiences.  So when she moves in with Jordan she's exposed to a teenage boy with teenage interests and teenage hormones.  It's interesting to see Karen experience what life has to offer outside of gymnastics.  She also gets to know her coach better and see him beyond his coaching and as someone who has experienced great loss and lived through it.

The development of the romance between Karen and Jordan is a realistic look at teenage romance even thought these teens have experienced very different childhoods from what would be considered typical.  I liked how it wasn't this instant surge of hormones.  Instead the author allowed Karen and Jordan to slowly get to know each other and become friends first.

The letters themselves are a fascinating look at what Karen wants to say but isn't ready or simply can't.  The letters contains emotions and fears she's afraid to let go of as well as documenting her progress in grieving her parents deaths.

Even if you don't usually read the young adult genre, I would recommend giving Letters to Nowhere a try.

Rating:  A

Letters to Nowhere Series ~

Letters to Nowhere
Return to Sender (November 15, 2013)*

*The author stated "the remaining books will be released in shorter more frequent installments, basically TV episode style."

Review: Slammed

Slammed
Colleen Hoover
Young Adult
Slammed Series/Book 1
Self Published/January 5, 2012

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope. 

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

Layken aka Lake, isn't happy about moving from her small Texas town to a suburb outside of Detroit, Michigan.  She's isn't happy about a lot of things but upon meeting her new next-door neighbor things brighten up for Lake.  Suddenly Michigan isn't looking so bad.  It's that relationship with Will Cooper that takes center stage in Lake's life.  Sometimes Lake acted like a typical teenager, worrying over boys, friends and school.  Other times she acted far beyond her young age showing her maturity in the face of the horrible things life threw at her.  I liked Lake but she tended to jump to conclusions a little too fast for someone whom otherwise came off as intelligent.

Will Cooper has suffered tremendous loss and now shoulders a lot of responsibility at a young age.   I adored Will - his integrity, kindness and most of all, his love for his brother Caulder.   He also loves the music of poetry.  We see how Will's experiences have molded him into a serious young man with such focus on his and Caulder's future he's afraid of losing that focus.

Layken seems to latch on to people rather quickly.  First Will, then her new BFF Eddie.  Could be because of losing her father or she might have been like this prior to his death.  I wasn't quite sure what motivated her.  Turns out Will was what she needed but they still had some hurdles to jump before they could pursue their romance.

Slammed is an emotional read dealing with serious issues that don't always resolve the way you would hope for.  I read it very quickly but did have to set it aside for a day simply because of the sadness it evoked in me.  It's not by any means a light, easy read but garners strong emotions in not only the story but the poetry.  Beautiful words conjuring beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking visions.

Rating: B

Slammed Series ~

Slammed
Point of Retreat
This Girl (April 30, 3013)

ARC Review: Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits
Katie McGarry
Young Adult Contemporary
Harlequin Teen/July 31, 2012

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible. Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

This one surprised me.  In a good way.  I had read a couple of positive comments about the book and I did like the premise.  Plus, there doesn't seem to be as much Contemporary Young Adult as there is the more popular Fantasy Young Adult.  So I started Pushing the Limits and teared up by the end of the second chapter.  In a good way.   

The second chapter would not be the last time this story brought tears to my eyes.  It is, obviously, a very emotional read at times.  Both Echo and Noah have been through their own private hells and are still there trying to make their way out.  They've each gone through horrible loss and McGarry doesn't hold back when it comes to pulling out the emotions from these characters.  Not surprisingly, both Echo and Noah have their share of attitude, especially when it comes to adults.  As we all tended to be as teens, we think we know better than adults and adults have no idea what we're going through.  Echo and Noah are lucky when one adult, the school counselor, comes into their lives and refuses to leave.  Mrs. Collins was a wonderful character that didn't fall into that complacent spot so many adults in young adult novels do.

Echo's life is so far from perfect but it could be a lot worse without her friend Lila, who has stuck by her.  The way Echo and Lila interact and how their friendship plays out in the story shows very well the impact of  having someone stand by you when you are at your lowest. I'm glad McGarry gave plenty page time to show the depth of their friendship.  

Noah, whoa, my heart was breaking for him.  His life went from a happy, stable family to a foster home where he basically takes care of himself.   He needs more than what he is getting but his time in the foster care system has taught him not to trust adults.   Noah's life has made a complete 180°and we see how conflicted he is from who he was before and who he is trying to be now.  This is a kid who feels like he lost everything and is desperately trying to get some of that back.  McGarry created Noah in an image of a bad-boy persona but was still able to make him not only believable but get the reader to sympathize with him.   

Echo and Noah together rub either other the wrong way from the beginning.  They don't think they have anything in common and want nothing to do with each other.  But remember I mentioned Mrs. Collins, the school counselor?  She is smart and thinks Echo and Noah can help each other.  So they're put together for tutoring sessions.  As time passes, Noah and Echo each see beyond each others' outer-self to what is really going on inside.  I loved how they really began listening to each other and letting go of their preconceptions, allowing them to trust again. 

Pushing the Limits deals with a number of dark topics which the author handles well, delving into the subject matter with clarity and compassion.  Ms. McGarry is a welcome addition to my "must read" authors list. 

Rating:  A

Pushing the Limits
Dare You To (2013)

Review: In Honor

In Honor
Jessi Kirby
Young Adult Contemporary
Simon & Schuster/May 8, 2012

Honor receives her brother’s last letter from Iraq thee days after learning that he died, and opens it the day his fellow Marines lay the flag over his casket. Its contents are a complete shock: concert tickets to see Kyra Kelly, her favorite pop star and Finn’s celebrity crush. In his letter, he jokingly charged Honor with the task of telling Kyra Kelly that he was in love with her.

Grief-stricken and determined to grant Finn’s last request, she rushes to leave immediately. But she only gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen him in ages, thanks to a falling out between the two guys, but Rusty is much the same as Honor remembers him: arrogant, stubborn. . . and ruggedly good looking. Neither one is what the other would ever look for in a road trip partner, but the two of them set off together, on a voyage that makes sense only because it doesn’t. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn–but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?

I love a good road trip book.  It speaks to my needs of adventure and my love of driving in those wide open spaces the Chicks sing about.  Bonus points for driving an Impala on the trip.  Supernatural fans would appreciate that!  The two characters on this road trip are brought together by grief and loss.  Not the best beginning for any trip but it works this time around.

Honor hasn't had the easiest of lives.  She was orphaned at an early age, raised by her aunt, she only had her older brother Finn as family.  When Finn dies Honor loses something beyond her sibling.  All sense of normalcy is gone.  She's drifting and doesn't know how to find her way back to anything close to normal.   Then she reads the letter from Finn and finds at least something she can do, a direction she can go even if it is to California.

The trip begins as a stowaway of sorts comes along for the ride and it's all Honor can do to keep her cool.   Rusty likes his alcohol and tries to drown his sorrows but ends up heading to California with Honor.  It's good he does since it's not a trip Honor did a lot of planning for.  At the beginning of the trip, Honor's focus is completely on the destination - Kyra Kelly's concert.  Rusty, well, he acts like he had nothing better to do which it turns out has some truth to it but he also has his reasons for going with.  

The trip from Texas to California is long and not always the most scenic.  It gives these two a lot of time to think.  Even though the story is told from Honor POV, we still see what Rusty is going through although it's not as profound as the changes we see in Honor.  Both characters tend to act close to what you'd expect of them given what we know of them.  There are a few major coincidences on this road trip where it felt like a  Lifetime movie.   The setups a little too perfect. 

The pacing was surprisingly slow at times given the short time frame Honor has to get to California if she wants to make the concert.  The stops the duo made along the way are more like a type of spiritual guidance rather than simple rest stops and bathroom breaks.  I liked how each significant event of the trip can be seen as stages of Honor and Rusty's lives before and after Finn's death. 

In Honor is a tender, sweet and emotional story about loss and how each individual deals with that loss.  I will admit to tearing up at one point - Kirby does well in bringing out some strong emotions in her characters.  I do wish the pacing had been a bit quicker but otherwise, a very enjoyable story. 

Rating:  B+

ARC Review: How to Save a Life

How to Save a Life
Sara Zarr
Young Adult/Contemporary
Little, Brown/October 18, 2011

From Goodreads ~

Jill MacSweeney just wants everything to go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. You can't lose one family member and simply replace him with a new one, and when her mom decides to adopt a baby, that's exactly what it feels like she's trying to do. And that's decidedly not normal. With her world crumbling around her, can Jill come to embrace a new member of the family?

Mandy Kalinowski knows what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, she knows she wants a better life for her baby. But can giving up a child be as easy as it seems? And will she ever be able to find someone to care for her, too?

This is a story of surviving loss and moving on. Jill and her mom Robin are trying to survive the devastating loss of father and husband. Mandy is trying to survive the loss of everything she knows, even if those things and people are not good for her. All three women take an interesting journey to find what the next stage in their lives will hold.

Jill and her mom Robin are coping with the loss of Mac, father and husband, who died unexpectedly. They are well off financially but both still struggle with an emptiness Mac left behind. Robin decides to not only adopt a baby but bring the birth mother home to live them until the baby is born. This doesn't go over well with Jill who thinks it's a crazy idea. It does sound farfetched - a 50-something woman with a seventeen year old deciding to adopt a baby. But Robin, like Jill, is reacting from the death of her husband Mac. I thought Robin was a little too trusting for a woman who is portrayed as a very intelligent business woman. But she is thinking with her emotions when it comes to the adoption.

Robin thinks the baby will bring hope into their lives but Jill thinks it all a big mistake. She was very close to her father and it shows in how she thinks of him and what advice he would give her in different situations. Jill has tried to shut out the world so bringing a very pregnant Mandy into the home is seen by Jill as an invasion. I thought Jill's reactions were genuine given the situation. It's less than a year since her dad died and while she may act like she doesn't want attention, she still needs her mom. So to have her mom focus on this stranger and her unborn child causes Jill to become defensive.

Mandy is an odd character. At times she is comes across as innocent and younger than her years (she's 18, nearly 19). Her life has been sheltered but she's also had her share of abuse. She has a tendency to say what she's thinking, often being too blunt. Her thought process and actions don't always show someone with a sense of how society and social situations work. She wasn't an easy character to relate to.

How to Save a Life is intriguing for it's contrasting look at grief and how people work through that grief. I could easily picture this as a Lifetime movie. The characters are solid but not easy to connect with. The ending didn't come as a surprise, it was fairly obvious how it would end early on. Even with the predictable plot, How to Save a Life turned out to be a satisfying read.

Rating: B

Review: Forever Mine

Forever Mine*
Elizabeth Reyes
Contemporary Young Adult
Moreno Brothers/Book 1
Self-published/September 6, 2010

From Goodreads ~

Seventeen-year old Sarah’s life is turned upside down when her single mom is sent to jail. She’s forced to move, leaving behind everything she’s ever known, including her best friend Sydney. Lost and bitter in a new school, her one goal is to save money and move back home. Then she meets Angel Moreno.

Enigmatic but gorgeous, Angel is almost too good to be true. Except for one thing, his archaic belief that guys and girls can never be “just friends”. The problem? Sarah’s best friend Sydney is not a girl.

With their unexpected romance intensifying to places neither ever experienced, how long can Sarah keep Angel in the dark about the guy waiting for her back home?

It's another free Kindle download and another worthwhile read. Hey, I'm on a roll here! This is categorized as Young Adult but I would say it is for older teens because of the sexual situations. Many young adult novels will state ages 12 and up but I would go a bit higher on this one.

Sarah's lucky in my opinion. Her mother is headed to jail but instead of foster care, Sarah is headed to La Jolla, California where her aunt lives. Yes, she's upset about leaving her friends and familiar surroundings in Flagstaff, Arizona but still... it could have been much worse. Sarah does try to make the best of it but her intent is to return to Flagstaff when she turns 18 after the first of the year. Sarah's home life hasn't been very stable, moving a lot with only her mother as her family. When they settled in Flagstaff, Sarah finally felt like she could put down roots. So it's understandable that she would want to go back. I do think she didn't show as much gratitude as she should have towards her aunt and her family. Her focus was getting out of there and she didn't seem to realize how that may have made her aunt and cousin feel. Then Sarah meets Angel and while she's very attracted to him, wants to be with him, she's still adamant in her plan to leave.

Angel Moreno isn't in a gang or in trouble with the law. He is instead a decent student, star athlete and raised in a close family. He works when he's needed in the family restaurant along with his parents and siblings. He's a decent guy if a bit possessive when it comes to Sarah. It never felt like he was too controlling but he does have a very distinct idea of relationships between males and females. We see it not only in how he is with Sarah but also how protective he is with his own sister. He's almost too mature, he could have easily been a college senior instead of a high school senior. His maturity is what Sarah needs since she had to grow up quickly and carry a lot of responsibility. Now Angel is there for her and he wants her to stay.

There is conflict beyond Sarah wanting to leave and the secret she's keeping from Angel about her best friend being a guy. There is also Angel's fan club to deal with. He's very popular with the girls at school and one in particular has fixated on him. She gives Sarah some difficulties but Sarah's secrets and lies are what really cause the problems.

The secondary characters of Angel's family, Sarah's cousin Valerie and her BFF Sydney all play their roles well. There are romances in the making between some and they do get their own books in the series. The struggles Sarah and Angel go through are resolved but not without some misunderstandings, tears and grief. When they finally do get their HEA, it's well worth the adversity they have faced.

Forever Mine was an enjoyable read that left me wanting to know more about the Moreno family and the people in their lives. The free read did what it was suppose to - captured my interest and made me want to read more from this author.

Rating: B+

Moreno Brothers Series ~

Forever Mine
Always Been Mine (Adult Contemporary)
Sweet Sofie (Mature YA)
Romero (Adult Contemporary)
Making You Mine (Adult Contemporary/December 2011)

Mini-Prequel of Sarah and Sydney on author's blog.

*Currently a Free Read on Kindle

Review: Where She Went

Where She Went
Gayle Forman
Young Adult
Sequel to If I Stay
Dutton/April 5, 2011

*Spoilers for If I Stay*

From the inside cover ~

My first impulse is not to grab her or kiss her or yell at her. I simply want to touch her cheek, still flushed from the night's performance. I want to cut through the space that separates us, measured in feet - not miles, not continents, not year - and to take a callused finger to her face. . .

But I can't touch her. This is a privilege that's been revoked.

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future–and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

The follow-up to the emotional If I Stay turns the tables and gives the readers Adam's POV. It's an interesting twist to a young adult novel where so often if only one POV is given, it is the female. Adam's voice is quick, harsh and intensely honest at times, if only with himself. He tries to keep this bubble around him, keeping everyone out, distancing himself from the possibility of feeling anything too intense. When he does think or say what he feels, it can be shocking, not only to the receiver but to Adam himself.

The look inside Adam's head was insightful. He's such a guy at times - doesn't understand women, doesn't always want to understand women. Trying to understand women makes his head hurt. But he does get Mia. Or at least he did until she cut him out of her life. It's that cut that was the catalyst for who Adam is now. You get this overwhelming sense that he just doesn't care anymore. He's going through the motions and it's pulling him down even deeper. Then Mia comes back into his life and you can see how he's afraid to hope that he can have her back. He's afraid of her.

Forman puts those emotions on the page for all to see, giving the reader a in-depth look at what Adam has been through and is still going through after losing not only Mia but her family as well. It's heartbreaking to see Adam and Mia at a loss as to what to do. These two who knew each other so well, now feel unsure and uncomfortable in each others company. Mia's actions and reactions to Adam show how the loss of her family and of Adam affected her deeply, causing her to make hard but sometimes necessary choices. While we don't get Mia's POV, we do get to know what she's been going through and how she feels about Adam. But ultimately, this is Adam's story, then Adam and Mia's.

There is this strand of hope throughout the story that can be stretched so thin to almost be transparent. Hope that Adam and Mia will be the reunited lovers of fairy tales. Hope that Adam will say what he needs desperately to say to Mia. Hope that Mia won't walk away from Adam again. Hope that the world won't conspire against them. I loved how that tiny bit of hope kept lingering.

Where She Went is a beautiful continuation of Adam and Mia's story with Adam's POV lending the story a distinct voice in the young adult genre.

Rating: A

Review: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Young Adult Contemporary
Knopf Books/October 2010

From the inside cover ~

I've left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the pages.
If you don't, put the book back on the shelf please.

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dates, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and red notebook) of their own.

What a pleasure to read. I thoroughly enjoyed Dash and Lily's unconventional romance. They are two teens with different views of Christmas and what it all means to them. They discover each other through a simple red, moleskin notebook. It's that discovery that was such a fun adventure for both the characters and this reader.

Lily is in love with Christmas. She easily gets into the spirit of the holiday, even when her parents decide to vacation in Fiji, leaving Lily and her older brother Langston home in New York City. I thought that was cold of her parents, they should have waited until new years to go. But they didn't and Lily is more or less left on her own since Langston invites his boyfriend Benny over. Then Lily gets a response from the notebook and she's sent on an adventure to places she normally wouldn't go.

Dash is a teenage version of Scrooge. He's not a people person so the idea of New York City during Christmas holds no appeal for him. He has become disenchanted with the holiday and has no intention of celebrating. His parents are divorced and each believe Dash is spending the holidays with the other. So he's on his own. He's a very bookish, geeky guy who loves spending time at the Strand, the monolithic bookstore in New York City. If I ever get there, that's where I'm going first!

As Lily and Dash write their dares in the notebook, trading it back and forth, they come to realize that it's not only freeing to come up with the dares, it's also freeing to accept and complete the dares. They both escape their comfort zones and explore parts of the city they previously knew little about.

The story does have some sober moments. Lily missing her parents, feeling lonely during this time when families tend to spend together. Dash, missing his mom, loathing his dad and having given up on family togetherness a long time ago. I felt sorry for both of them, for Dash, being alone and thinking that's what he wants. And Lily being stuck with her brother, who has little time for her. Lily, wanting so much to be happy and wanting her family together.

There was also much laughing on my part. Both Dash and Lily have a well-developed aptitude for teenage irony. Add in some slap-stick comedy and you have a very entertaining read. The secondary characters also added some flavor to the story. Dash's good friend Boomer playing straight man to Dash's snarky humor. Lily's extended family giving her advice whether she wants it or not.

A very satisfying read full of quirky humor, book nerds and a city full of entertaining places to explore, even for New Yorkers.

Rating: A-

Review: Speak

Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson
Young Adult Contemporary
Farrar, Straus & Giroux/1999
Reprint Peguin/2001/2009

From the author's website ~

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won’t talk to her, and people she doesn’t even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that’s not safe. Because there’s something she’s trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

Freshman year in high school can be a traumatic experience. New school, new faces, new rules, new universe that is high school. When you start with a bad reputation and nearly zero friends it become even more traumatic. Some days it's all you can do to survive. Some days it take creativity and sheer guts to get through it. Melinda learns all of this and more when she experiences the repercussions of a horrible act.

Anderson grabs hold of the reader with the descriptively accurate insular world of high school. Many times I found myself agreeing with Melinda's observations and comments on life in high school. The cliques, the teachers, the rules - so much is the same. The basics of teen life haven't change much in the 20+ years since I went. It still has that small town feel to it where gossip is rampant and everyone wants to know your business.

Through Melinda's narrative we see how she is perceived and treated by everyone from her former BFF, to her teachers, to her parents. Many of the students she comes in contact with treat her as if she's a leper. There are a few that are either oblivious to what happened at the party, don't care or don't believe the rumors about Melinda. But even those few students that talk to her are not close with her. Melinda holds herself apart, afraid too much interaction could lead to the potential for making a mistake. The adults want to help but are at a loss as to how. They don't know what's wrong so they don't know what steps to take to help. Melinda's inner thoughts when dealing with the adults are at times humorous and insightful. Anderson gets you into the head of a teenager with stunning accuracy.

There were times while reading when I wanted to say to Melinda, "Be mad, be angry. You have every right to be pissed off!" But she didn't. She wasn't ready. I think how Melinda is portrayed as this teenager who continues to withdraw, continues to spend more time alone, away from the school society is very realistic. It's a coping mechanism, that withdrawal into yourself. The desperate need to find somewhere safe after you've been shown it's not safe out there. Wherever there might be.

Melinda is smart and brave and so lost. She doesn't speak because she's afraid she'll say the wrong thing so she keeps quiet. She wants to speak, she wants to respond but she can't bring herself to take that chance. One thing about Melinda that for me, showed her strength was her ability to find the good and the humor in life. Even through the rough times in school with the teasing and ridicule she does maintain this quirky sense of humor. Even when she knows someone is about to hurt her feelings she tries to justify their actions. You see her wanting sometimes so desperately to have a friend. She will do just about anything to have just one friend. It's heartbreaking what she goes through before she can Speak.

Throughout the story there is the symbolism of a tree. Melinda is assigned an art project that involves trees. As we see Melinda's progress on the art project we also see her own inner progress on what happened at the party and how she must eventually face it.

I do wish it had been longer and showed more of Melinda's relationship with her parents. There is also the dialogue which was written in a format that might prove to be a bit jarring for some readers.

Example~

Dad: "It's supposed to be soup."

Me:

Dad: "It tasted a bit watery, so I kept adding thickener. I put in some corn and peas."

Me:

Dad: [pulling wallet from his back pocket] "Call for pizza. I'll get rid of this."

It did take me some time to get used to and I can't say I prefer it but the story isn't heavy on dialogue so it wasn't much of an issue for me.

Speak deals with a serious subject and explores how one teen girl reacts and the course her life takes. I found it to be an engrossing story with a likable narrator.

Rating: B+

Review: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Amy & Rogers Epic Detour
Morgan Matson
Young Adult Contemporary
Simon & Schuster/May 2010
Library Book

You might have noticed that I didn't post the usual back cover blurb, or in this case, inside cover blurb. I was going to but after reading it, I felt it gave away too much of the story. It's a road trip book and if you've ever been on a road trip, much of the fun comes from not always knowing where you might stop along the way. So I've placed the blurb at the end of the review.

I first heard about Amy & Roger's Epic Detour when Nath reviewed it. She heard about it from Ames so a big shout out to both of these ladies for recommending it. :)

This is probably one of the most enjoyable books I have read in a long time. From the start I loved Amy's voice. Her observations of the people around her are funny and telling. She's going through some serious stuff, dealing with her dad's death just three months ago. She's been alone for the last month in her house that's for sale. Her mother has already moved and is waiting for Amy to finish up her junior year in high school and then she'll being joining her mother in Connecticut. It's not enough that Amy must leave everything that's familiar and move across the country, now her mother has arranged for Amy to bring the car, with Roger, a guy she knew when she was a kid, driving it.

Road trips can be a lot of fun with the right people. But with someone you don't know and you're at a really low point in your life, it can suck. Amy does get lucky and Roger isn't a loser, or smelly or tell bad jokes or sing off key. It turns out he's a nice guy. A little shy but so is she, at least when they first meet. The trip starts off with Amy's mother planning an itinerary that allows no time for sightseeing or detours. Roger has another suggestion - a few detours here, places more interesting than what Amy's mom had in mind. Amy agrees as long as they get to Connecticut in four days. Amy has her reasons for agreeing and they have a lot to do with her parents.

The stops along the way bring back memories and some sadness but also a feeling of completeness for both Amy and Roger. I loved reading about where they ate. Amy is a big fan of diners and Roger is a fast food fan. The diners are specific to that area but the fast food - they had me craving In-N-Out (love their shakes), Chick-fil-A (chicken sandwiches are the best!) and something called crumbly hamburgers from a place called NuWay in Wichita, Kansas. I'm very curious about the crumbly. They also had me looking at maps, trying to figure out a quick road trip that the family could do on a long weekend. Utah has potential. :)

I have to mention the visuals in this book. Yep, there's pictures! LOL Pictures of Roger's playlist, receipts for all the food they ate, pictures of where they had been. I loved it all! It really gave the book that personal touch, as if you were reading their travel diary.

Then there is the story of Amy and Roger. How they got to know each other over the course of the trip. How they came to understand each other and themselves. How Amy learned that people can come into your life and make a big impact in a very short time. The secondary characters are all so very entertaining and well developed considering the short time they're on the page. And the story itself was funny. There were some sad scenes when Amy thinks of her father and when Roger confronts someone who has hurt him. But I also found myself laughing, grinning and snickering. It was charming to see how Amy and Roger got to know each other and came to care about each other. It was a different environment, being stuck in a car with someone. Certainly a learning environment. Neither of them are perfect, they both made mistakes along the way but the important part was that they learned from their mistakes.

If you want to read a fun, amusing and insightful story I would definitely recommend taking a journey with Amy & Roger.

Rating: A+

From the inside cover ~

When you're on a road trip, life is all about the detours. . .

Amy Curry is having a terrible year. Her mother has decided to move across the country and needs Amy to get their car from California to Connecticut. There's just one small problem. Since her dad died this past spring, Amy hasn't been able to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger, the nineteen-year-old son of an old family friend, who turns out to be unexpectedly cute. . . and dealing with some baggage of his own.

Meeting new people and coming to terms with her father's death were not what Amy had planned on this trip. And traveling the Loneliest Road in America, seeing the Colorado mountains, crossing the Kansas plains, and visiting diners, dingy motels, and Graceland were definitely not on the itinerary. But as they drive, Amy finds that the people you lest expected are the ones you may need the most - and that sometimes you have to get lost in order to find your way home.

Review: TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY

TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY
Jay Asher
Young Adult Contemporary
Razorbill/October 2007
Library Book

From the inside cover ~

Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

Hannah's voice explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a first-hand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself - a truth he never wanted to face.

Wow - just wow. This book is certainly different. The approach the author takes in telling the story is unique. It's told from the POV of Clay Jensen and the voice on the tapes of the deceased Hannah Baker. We get Hannah's thoughts leading up to her suicide and her reasons why she made the tapes and sent them out. Clay tells what he knows of Hannah and what happened leading up to her death but he's confused as to what part he played in her death. The reader is with Clay as he listens to the tapes and discovers the series of events that culminated in Hannah taking her life.

Clay Jensen is a nice, likable teenager. He's not one of the real popular kids but he's not a loner either. I'd call him an average high school kid. He gets decent grades, works at the local movie theater and stays out of trouble. Which is why it's such a surprise when he gets these mysterious tapes. Once he starts listening he can't believe it's Hannah's voice on the tapes and he's even more surprised when he realizes what she's done. She's telling secrets about Clay's classmates and how she feels each of them had a part in her suicide.

Clay doesn't just listen to the tapes, Hannah also included a map of the town and the "points of interest" she refers to in the tapes. It's almost like a treasure map that takes Clay on this journey as he listens to the tapes. He discovers some things he didn't know about the people in Hannah's life but mostly he learns about Hannah herself. He also makes some discoveries about himself and how he wishes he had done some things differently but he can only move forward and change how he acts in the present, not the past.

The story went by very quickly - I, like Clay, wanted to know what part Hannah thought Clay had in her suicide and more importantly why she did it. The why for me was never quite clear. Yes, she had some difficult times and she was fighting depression but there didn't seem to be any one thing that caused it. Sure, some of the people on the tapes were mean to Hannah, treated her poorly and upset her but there wasn't any one person, it was a domino effect.

What bothered me was the way Hannah spread the blame around but never seemed to include herself in that blame. In hindsight she exhibited some of the classic signs of depression and potential suicidal tendencies. The problem with hindsight is that it doesn't do you a bit of good after the fact. I'm not really sure you could say her life was any worse than other teens, but everyone has different breaking points and Hannah met hers.

It's hard to say if I would recommend this book. It really depends on your comfort zone. Teen suicide isn't a light subject and while this story presented it in a different way, it's still teen suicide - a dark, sad and potentially upsetting subject. I do think the impact of Hannah's death was muted by the fact that we meet her after her death. If she had been alive and I had gotten to know her, then she committed suicide, I think it would have had a more in-your-face effect. By having Hannah on the tapes, it allows the reader to take a step back from direct contact with her. We see her through Clay's eyes and through Hannah's words but those words were spoken after she made the decision to end her life. Overall, an interesting story but possibly not for everyone.

Rating: B+